Exclusive: Riley Weston, the writer-actress who generated an extraordinary amount of attention in the late ’90s for failing to disclose her true age while working for Felicity, has quietly found another way to enjoy success in TV: penning feel-good movies.
Her latest creation is Apples, Orchards & Romance, a new confection for Great American Family that stars Trevor Donovan and Jessica Lowndes.
The movie, which will air as part of the net’s annual Great American Autumn programming event that returns this September, follows teacher Drew Granger (Donovan) who accepts a temporary substitute job in his old hometown of Chestnut Hollow, Texas, where he meets Aiden, the proverbial new kid at school, desperate for a caring friend. While he would rather have taken a job anywhere else, Drew reconsiders Chestnut Hollow when he meets Lainie Abbott (Lowndes), the...
Her latest creation is Apples, Orchards & Romance, a new confection for Great American Family that stars Trevor Donovan and Jessica Lowndes.
The movie, which will air as part of the net’s annual Great American Autumn programming event that returns this September, follows teacher Drew Granger (Donovan) who accepts a temporary substitute job in his old hometown of Chestnut Hollow, Texas, where he meets Aiden, the proverbial new kid at school, desperate for a caring friend. While he would rather have taken a job anywhere else, Drew reconsiders Chestnut Hollow when he meets Lainie Abbott (Lowndes), the...
- 6/20/2023
- by Lynette Rice
- Deadline Film + TV
Jessica Lowndes and Paul Greene are teaming up!
Great American Family revealed Thursday that Jessica Lowndes, Paul Greene (When Calls the Heart), and Golden Globe ® nominee (Pipe Dreams) and seven-time Grammy Award ® winner (22 nominations), the “Empress of Soul,” Gladys Knight are set to star in Someday at Christmas.
The flick is an original Christmas movie, which is set to premiere on the network this November.
The film reunites Knight with former Motown chief and acclaimed, award-winning writer-producer, Suzanne de Passe.
The new film begins production on September 9 and will be part of Great American Christmas, the network’s holiday programming franchise which returns on October 21 with a new slate of original holiday movie premieres every Saturday and Sunday and Christmas movies all day and all night through the end of 2022.
“As anticipation builds for year two of Great American Christmas, we are delighted to be working with the incomparable Gladys Knight...
Great American Family revealed Thursday that Jessica Lowndes, Paul Greene (When Calls the Heart), and Golden Globe ® nominee (Pipe Dreams) and seven-time Grammy Award ® winner (22 nominations), the “Empress of Soul,” Gladys Knight are set to star in Someday at Christmas.
The flick is an original Christmas movie, which is set to premiere on the network this November.
The film reunites Knight with former Motown chief and acclaimed, award-winning writer-producer, Suzanne de Passe.
The new film begins production on September 9 and will be part of Great American Christmas, the network’s holiday programming franchise which returns on October 21 with a new slate of original holiday movie premieres every Saturday and Sunday and Christmas movies all day and all night through the end of 2022.
“As anticipation builds for year two of Great American Christmas, we are delighted to be working with the incomparable Gladys Knight...
- 9/8/2022
- by Paul Dailly
- TVfanatic
The second season of “The Amber Ruffin Show” will return with new episodes Feb. 25, Peacock announced Tuesday.
The critically acclaimed late-night variety series is hosted by comedian Amber Ruffin, who made history as the first Black woman to write for a late-night network TV show when she joined the writer’s room of “Late Night with Seth Meyers” in 2014. Ruffin’s own show premiered in 2020, as one of the first originals for the Peacock streaming platform. Over the course of the first and second seasons for the show, Ruffin has used the show to cover breaking topics in the news cycle, including police brutality, Meghan Markle, violence against Asian Americans and the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.
“The Amber Ruffin Show” received a nomination for outstanding variety series writing at the 2021 Emmy awards. The series is produced by Universal Television and Sethmaker Shoemeyers Productions, and Ruffin executive produces alongside Jenny Hagel, Seth Meyers and Mike Shoemaker.
The critically acclaimed late-night variety series is hosted by comedian Amber Ruffin, who made history as the first Black woman to write for a late-night network TV show when she joined the writer’s room of “Late Night with Seth Meyers” in 2014. Ruffin’s own show premiered in 2020, as one of the first originals for the Peacock streaming platform. Over the course of the first and second seasons for the show, Ruffin has used the show to cover breaking topics in the news cycle, including police brutality, Meghan Markle, violence against Asian Americans and the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.
“The Amber Ruffin Show” received a nomination for outstanding variety series writing at the 2021 Emmy awards. The series is produced by Universal Television and Sethmaker Shoemeyers Productions, and Ruffin executive produces alongside Jenny Hagel, Seth Meyers and Mike Shoemaker.
- 2/15/2022
- by Sasha Urban, Wyatte Grantham-Philips and Wilson Chapman
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Multi-hyphenate Jessica Lowndes has signed a four-picture deal to star in, write, direct and executive produce original films for Gac Family.
The announcement follows the weekend premiere of Harmony From The Heart, in which Lowndes starred with Jesse Metcalfe. She also wrote the original screenplay and executive produced the film.
Lowndes is also the latest Hallmark Channel alum to sign a deal with Gac Family, which is run by Bill Abbott, former CEO of Crown Media Family Networks, parent of Hallmark Channel. Abbott has been bringing in established Hallmark Channel talent he worked with while running the network. Lowndes joins fellow Hallmark Channel vets including Jen Lilley, Danica McKellar and Trevor Donovan, all of whom have signed multi-picture deals with Gac Family. Additionally, When Calls the Heart alums Lori Loughlin and Daniel Lissing reunited for the return of spinoff When Hope Calls on Gac Family.
Harmony From The Heart...
The announcement follows the weekend premiere of Harmony From The Heart, in which Lowndes starred with Jesse Metcalfe. She also wrote the original screenplay and executive produced the film.
Lowndes is also the latest Hallmark Channel alum to sign a deal with Gac Family, which is run by Bill Abbott, former CEO of Crown Media Family Networks, parent of Hallmark Channel. Abbott has been bringing in established Hallmark Channel talent he worked with while running the network. Lowndes joins fellow Hallmark Channel vets including Jen Lilley, Danica McKellar and Trevor Donovan, all of whom have signed multi-picture deals with Gac Family. Additionally, When Calls the Heart alums Lori Loughlin and Daniel Lissing reunited for the return of spinoff When Hope Calls on Gac Family.
Harmony From The Heart...
- 2/15/2022
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
At long last, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel returns! And even better, it's doing two episodes a week for four weeks for a combo binge-episodic effect.
Apple TV releases Severance, and the race will be on to determine what in the heck is going on because it's a mindbender!
And we cannot forget Valentine's Day. There's romance across the dial, but we've got our eyes on one Gac Family flick and the second in a trilogy at Hallmark.
Saturday, February 12
8/7c Harmony from the Heart (Gac Family)
Jessica Lowndes stars in this moving film, which she also wrote and executive produced, about a young woman named Violet who hopes to change lives through music therapy.
When she gets too involved with patients and neglects the requisites she needs to graduate, Violet gets an assignment that would put her skills to use.
Meeting local physician Blake Williams (Jesse Metcalfe) opens challenges Violet...
Apple TV releases Severance, and the race will be on to determine what in the heck is going on because it's a mindbender!
And we cannot forget Valentine's Day. There's romance across the dial, but we've got our eyes on one Gac Family flick and the second in a trilogy at Hallmark.
Saturday, February 12
8/7c Harmony from the Heart (Gac Family)
Jessica Lowndes stars in this moving film, which she also wrote and executive produced, about a young woman named Violet who hopes to change lives through music therapy.
When she gets too involved with patients and neglects the requisites she needs to graduate, Violet gets an assignment that would put her skills to use.
Meeting local physician Blake Williams (Jesse Metcalfe) opens challenges Violet...
- 2/12/2022
- by Carissa Pavlica
- TVfanatic
There's a new and exciting romance premiering on Gac Family this weekend, just in time for Valentine's Day.
Harmony from the Heart is a labor of love for Jessica Lowndes, who stars in the moving film, which she also wrote and executive produced.
The story follows a young woman named Violet who hopes to change lives through music therapy.
A musician herself, Jessica has crafted a story that has all of the romantic tropes you're used to seeing in similar movies you love to watch.
What you won't expect is how she's managed to infuse it with a unique freshness that sets Harmony from the Heart on a level all its own.
We had the chance to catch up with Jessica over Zoom this week, and she told us how she started writing Harmony from the Heart, which has been years in the making.
This isn't the first movie that Jessica produced,...
Harmony from the Heart is a labor of love for Jessica Lowndes, who stars in the moving film, which she also wrote and executive produced.
The story follows a young woman named Violet who hopes to change lives through music therapy.
A musician herself, Jessica has crafted a story that has all of the romantic tropes you're used to seeing in similar movies you love to watch.
What you won't expect is how she's managed to infuse it with a unique freshness that sets Harmony from the Heart on a level all its own.
We had the chance to catch up with Jessica over Zoom this week, and she told us how she started writing Harmony from the Heart, which has been years in the making.
This isn't the first movie that Jessica produced,...
- 2/11/2022
- by Carissa Pavlica
- TVfanatic
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